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Class 6 – 10/17/18; “Consumers & Users As Creators & Connectors: Cases, Clauses, & Contexts” + “The Implications of Copyright Law on Video-game Streamers”

By Jon Festinger on October 20, 2018

Slides & video from the class.

Jon

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Talk at VGBA North; October 16, 2018

By Jon Festinger on October 17, 2018

Was honoured to speak at the Video Game Bar Association event at the Centre for Digital Media on Tuesday October 16, 2018 on the subject of  A.I. & Video-Games. My slides can be found below…

Jon

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Discussion Outline for 17 October 2018

By aakash taneja on October 15, 2018

Hello class!
Helen, Will, Jeff and I are presenting on Wednesday.
Here are the broad strokes of our presentation:

Discussion Outline for 17 October 2018

Group: Helen Leung, William Goh, Aakash Taneja, Jeffrey Wong

 

Discussion Topic: The implications of copyright law on video-game streamers: the DMCA and how it applies to YouTube and Twitch

 

  1. Introduction and Roadmap (Jeff)
  • Overview of video-game streaming: origins, history and future.
  • Economic magnitude of the streaming industry.
  • Schools of thought: what does evidence indicate about how streamers affect video game sales.
  • Lead in to copyright and how it affects the streaming industry.

 

  1. Digital Copyright Law in Canada and the US and implications for streamers (Aakash)
  • An overview of copyright law in Canada, the DMCA and how it applies to Canadians
  • Overview of YouTube’s implementation/ enforcement procedure for the DMCA
  • “Lets-Play” videos and how copyright laws affect them: some examples
  • Policy implications and discussion about where and how the law should intervene

 

  1. Music Copyright Law in Canada and the US (William)
  • Overview of Twitch and the symbiotic relationship between video-game streamers and music
  • Copyright Infringement and DMCA takedowns on Streamers via Twitch: some examples
  • Twitch Music Library: cooperative licensing agreement between streamers, Twitch and Record Companies
  • Policy implications and discussion about Twitch’s approach to music copyright claims

 

  1. International approaches and developments (Helen)
  • Approaches to video-game streamers in other jurisdictions outside of North America and differences in copyright law.
  • Discussion of future international treaties and in particular EU Article 13. The implications.
  • What is the best approach to dealing with copyright law in the context of video-game streamers? 

Preparation for presentation

The video is a quick snapshot into YouTube’s approach to dealing with copyright infringement.

Look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday, thanks kindly!

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Class 5 – 10/10/18; “Connecting Ourselves: Gamer Vulnerability in Virtual Realities” + ” Are You in Control of Your Mind?”

By Jon Festinger on October 10, 2018

Video and slides below. Sorry that my slides had to be divided into two parts due to the size of the file.

Jon

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News of the Week; October 3, 2018

By Jon Festinger on October 7, 2018

GAMES

  1. Game devs call for better working conditions via #AsAGamesWorker
  2. Telltale Games and the lure of the cliff edge: Disastrous studio collapses are a fixture of the industry – and that won’t change until we stop celebrating the brinksmanship of executives
  3. 2018 will go down as the Year of the Bad Employer: Telltale just the latest in a parade of game dev horror stories likely leading to unionization
  4. Telltale reportedly searching for partner to finish Walking Dead by hiring its former devs: Third episode is supposedly almost finished, would be completed with the fourth by Telltale vets as contract employees
  5. More than 1,000 jobs lost to studio closures over the past year
  6. “It’s not enough to point at Bayonetta or FemShep and say ‘job done'”: NFTS student Daisy Fernandez discusses female representation in games and the barriers for women seeking a career in development
  7. Time is limited, and devs are struggling now that games demand more of it
  8. Epic Games Says Fortnite’s New Breast Physics Were ‘Unintended, Embarrassing, Careless’
  9. Epic will remove “embarrassing” breast physics from Fortnite: The inclusion of breast physics in the latest update was “unintended” says Epic
  10. Video: A retrospective look at ‘girl games’ of the ’90s
  11. Tencent using facial recognition to check users’ ages in Honour of Kings: Limited trial introduced over the weekend as part of public health campaign
  12. Tencent testing facial recognition to enforce playtime restrictions in China
  13. The Witcher author wants $16 million in royalties from CD Projekt Red
  14. CD Project Red rejects Witcher author’s request for $16.1m in additional royalties: “Mr Andrzej Sapkowski expects payment beyond what had been contractually agreed”
  15. FIFA 19 discloses loot box odds in-game
  16. Valve kicks 179 rule-breaking games off Steam
  17. Steam’s downfall would be a blow to ‘the creative freedom of devs,’ argues Larian CEO
  18. Blog: Why do publishers leave Steam?
  19. Even a decade in, GOG doesn’t want to try and be the Steam-slayer
  20. PUBG has banned 13 million cheating players to date
  21. 13 million PUBG accounts banned to-date: A Reddit user has crunched the numbers
  22. Patent authority rules against Nintendo, lets go-kart firm keep MariCar trademark
  23. Nintendo awarded $88,000 in lawsuit against Mario Kart-themed go-kart business
  24. Nintendo wins lawsuit against unlicensed Mario Kart-themed tourist attraction: MariCar ordered to pay $89,000 in damages
  25. Another Tourist Crashes Real-Life (And Totally Unofficial) Mario Kart In Tokyo
  26. I’m Finally Convinced: The Nintendo Switch Really Is the Console For Everyone
  27. Report: A new Nintendo Switch model will arrive in 2019
  28. Nintendo president: “I compete for time,” not against Xbox, PlayStation
  29. Sony Caves: The PS4 Will Soon Begin Supporting Cross-Console Play
  30. Industry reacts to Sony’s cross-play U-turn: Microsoft keen to connect Minecraft players, Bethesda says no plans for Fallout 76, but hope remains for Rocket League and Hearthstone
  31. Friends reunited: Sony admits enabling cross-play took too long
  32. Sony is shuttering PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale’s online servers
  33. Canucks players banned from playing video games on road trips
  34. Canucks players put in video game ban on the road
  35. Canucks ban video games, ‘Fortnite’ from NHL road trips
  36. Housemarque goes battle royale: “We’ve had pushback, and we’re expecting more”
  37. ESA president Michael Gallagher steps down
  38. Fullscreen Study Finds Avid Gamers Have Twice As Much Discretionary Income As Non-Gamers
  39. World of Warcraft community rallies for the creator of a beloved mod: World of Warcraft’s most essential mod is maintained by one man
  40. DBM author gets a surprise support package from MSI and Blizzard
  41. Carbine Studios will shut down WildStar on November 28
  42. ‘First on Discord’ initiative launching with seven (timed) PC exclusives
  43. Oculus Quest will “end up competing with the Nintendo Switch as a device”
  44. Nintendo reveals it invented “Bowsette” before the Internet did
  45. Dragalia Lost has lowest-grossing launch of Nintendo’s mobile line-up: Publisher’s latest mobile offering generates $3 million in Japan and US over five days
  46. Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution is getting a movie adaptation
  47. Chinese console and TV-based game market projected to reach $736m in 2018: Grey market software to account for nearly two-thirds of market value
  48. World Rally Championship dev Kylotonn acquired by Bigben 
  49. Bigben spending spree continues with Kylotonn acquisition: The Paris-based racing studio joins the family
  50. Carmack compares Oculus Quest hardware power to last-gen game consoles
  51. Devs will need to code creatively to get the most out of the Oculus Quest
  52. Nate Nanzer: “The train has left the station” on esports opportunities – Overwatch League commissioner reflects on its inaugural year, the relationship between esports and traditional sports, and the League’s role in diversity leadership
  53. Hands-on: Oculus Quest is an intriguing new middle ground for VR
  54. 562 adapts to VR growing at a Snailiens’ pace
  55. ‘Astro Bot Rescue Mission’ Review – This VR Platformer Earns Our First 10 Out of 10
  56. John Carmack’s advice for mobile VR devs: Iterate, iterate, iterate
  57. Stupid Patent of the Month: Trolling Virtual Reality
  58. My confusing, 10-day journey to getting a UWP game to work on Windows 10
  59. Block party: Minecraft has over 90 million monthly active players
  60. Minecraft exceeds 90m monthly active users: Despite dominating the headlines, Fortnite still lags behind as Minecraft gains nearly 20 million monthly users in 2018 alone
  61. Newzoo: Catering to families with Xbox Game Pass could be key to closing gap on Sony
  62. Forza Horizon 4 is the best open-world driving game you can buy
  63. How Serious Sam set itself apart in the era of Duke Nukemand Quake
  64. Review: Civilization VI on the iPhone is the full experience
  65. How The Universim’s ‘god game’ twist charmed Early Access players
  66. Ubisoft Joins Blockchain Game Alliance as Publishers Anticipate Death of the Video Game Console
  67. Google and Ubisoft to test game-streaming service with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: Limited number of users in the US will be able to play Assassin’s Creed Odyssey for free through their Chrome browser
  68. Google is testing an in-Chrome game streaming service with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
  69. Google announces “Project Stream”—a “test” of game streaming in Chrome
  70. Vivendi will sell all Ubisoft shares by March 2019
  71. Vivendi lays plan to relinquish the last of its Ubisoft stock by 2019
  72. Ubisoft chief: The games industry needs to find its soul
  73. “Gaming is not about entertainment, it’s about learning”: Ubisoft chief creative officer Serge Hascoet says the games industry is missing a soul, doesn’t do enough to benefit players in their lives away from the game
  74. Liquid Media acquires rights to 65 classic video game titles
  75. Warner Bros distributing Cyberpunk 2077 in North America: Partnership with developer CD Projekt Red continues after publisher distributed past Witcher games in the region
  76. Tencent investing $316 million in Bilibili: Chinese gaming giant to purchase approximately 12.3% in shares of video sharing company that owns Overwatch League Hangzhou team
  77. Tencent restructures with an eye on corporate clients as games business stutters
  78. Chinese console and TV-based game market projected to reach $736m in 2018: Grey market software to account for nearly two-thirds of market value
  79. Disney shuts down Club Penguin Island, lays off developers
  80. Club Penguin Island shuts down, “dozens” of developers reportedly laid off
  81. Ex-Irrational and Slipgate veteran shares the secret to game dev survival: Apathy will kill your game, so work on something you believe in, says indie developer Gwen Frey
  82. Blog: Indie marketing – It’s never too soon
  83. It’s time we stopped encouraging indies: The Fall director John Warner rethinks the ethics of guiding aspiring developers without acknowledging some harsh realities
  84. Three pain points in the production and design of Shadow of the Tomb Raider
  85. Don’t Miss: How reference data was captured for Forza Motorsport 5
  86. Video: Sid Meier explores ‘interesting decisions’ in gameplay
  87. The Walking Dead Producer Says Video Games Resurrected The Zombie Genre
  88. How EVE Online has evolved in the era of F2P
  89. Leaked Video Seems To Show Open-World Harry Potter Game
  90. Twitch Viewers Band Together To Fund A Streamer’s Life-Saving Trip To The ER
  91. Seattle police try new opt-in registry system to combat SWATting
  92. Police to Seattle’s techies, streamers: Sign up for our anti-swatting service [Updated]
  93. EA has killed, pledges to kill again – 10 Years Ago This Month: EA CEO John Riccitiello gets into the spooky spirit of the season by promising the publisher would be an unstoppable game-cancelling machine

DIGITAL

  1. From Copyright Term to Super Bowl Commercials: Breaking Down the Digital NAFTA Deal (Michael Geist)
  2. Canadian Music Group Calls For Copyright Tax on Broadband Data Use (Michael Geist) 
  3. Court Agrees That Suppressing Reviews Unfair
  4. Another Social Media “Material Support to Terrorists” Lawsuit Fails–Cain v. Twitter (Eric Goldman) 
  5. Another 512(f) Case Fails–Handshoe v. Perrett (Eric Goldman)
  6. Section 230 Helps Malware Vendor Avoid Liability for Blocking Decision–PC Drivers v. Malwarebytes (Eric Goldman)
  7. Chinese ‘Rage Comic’ Site First Victim Of Government’s History-Rewriting ‘Heroes And Martyrs’ Law 
  8. The UK Government Is Planning to Regulate Hate Speech Online
  9. The first “social network” of brains lets three people transmit thoughts to each other’s heads: BrainNet allows collaborative problem-solving using direct brain-to-brain communication.
  10. 50 Million Facebook Accounts Affected in Massive Security Breach
  11. 50 million Facebook accounts hit by account hijacking security exploit
  12. 50 million Facebook accounts breached by access-token-harvesting attack
  13. Study Shows Facebook’s Still Miles Away From Taking Privacy, Transparency Seriously
  14. Breaking: Hackers Accessed 50 Million Facebook Accounts 
  15. Okay, Facebook, You Win. I’m Done.
  16. Facebook Resets Access to 90 Million Accounts Following Security Breach
  17. After Massive Breach, Facebook Says Hackers Didn’t Use Your Login to Access Third-Party Apps
  18. Facebook Tells Cops Its ‘Real Name’ Policy Applies To Law Enforcement Too
  19. Facebook and Employers Are Subject to Gender Bias Employment Complaint 
  20. Facebook Real Estate Binge Shows No Signs of Slowing
  21. Facebook Rolls Out ‘Premieres’, Which Let Creators Debut On-Demand Videos As Live Events
  22. Even If You Hate Zuckerberg Now, You’ll Love Him Later: Just ask Bill Gates how it works.
  23. Exclusive: WhatsApp Cofounder Brian Acton Gives The Inside Story On #DeleteFacebook And Why He Left $850 Million Behind
  24. Facebook takes on YouTube with more video advertising options
  25. Conspiracy Vlogger Is Arrested For Threatening To Kill YouTube Employees
  26. This Nifty Tool Estimates How Much Money YouTubers Can Make From AdSense Vs. Selling Merch
  27. YouTube Collabs With Dior To Give 7 Creators Backstage Access During Paris Fashion Week
  28. Google is trying to earn more money from YouTube by capitalizing on people using it for searches
  29. YouTube Launches New Ads That Let Users Make Third-Party Purchases Without Leaving The Site
  30. Fans’ Dedicated Effort Makes Late Actor Stefán Karl Stefánsson A YouTube Millionaire
  31. YouTuber Daniel ‘PeeWeeToms’ Thomas, Who Vlogged His Battle With Lung Cancer, Has Passed Away
  32. 1 Year After Launching Native Player, Reddit Is Driving 1 Billion Monthly Video Views
  33. Reddit Surpasses 1 Billion Video Views, Closes in on 1 Million Uploads per Month
  34. Vigilante engineer stops Waymo from patenting key lidar technology: Eric Swildens had no dog in the fight other than intellectual curiosity.
  35. Google Is Killing Inbox—Here Are Some Alternatives
  36. Google taking new steps to prevent malicious Chrome extensions
  37. BroadbandTV Unveils Distribution & Label Services for Music Artists
  38. BroadbandTV Launches Distribution and Label Services for Musicians
  39. BBTV To Help Digital Musicians Secure Distribution On Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, More
  40. Report says use of AI could be violating human rights
  41. California Enacts Nation’s First Anti-Bot Law
  42. An AI Took A Road Trip And Wrote A Terrible Novel About It
  43. Why Technology Favors Tyranny: Artificial intelligence could erase many practical advantages of democracy, and erode the ideals of liberty and equality. It will further concentrate power among a small elite if we don’t take steps to stop it.
  44. The first “social network” of brains lets three people transmit thoughts to each other’s heads: BrainNet allows collaborative problem-solving using direct brain-to-brain communication. 
  45. Artificial Intelligence & Human Rights: Opportunities & Risks (Filippo A. Raso, Hannah Hilligoss, Vivek Krishnamurthy, Christopher Bavitz, and Levin Kim)
  46. It’s Time To Talk About Robot Gender Stereotypes
  47. Researchers find the most plausible cause of wellbeing decline in youth is increased screen time
  48. Are Canadian Employees Concerned about the Right to Disconnect?
  49. Another 512(f) Case Fails–Handshoe v. Perrett
  50. The Icing on the Cake: an unfair investigation into a joke gone viral 
  51. Spotify Founders to Sell Another $100 Million in Shares
  52. Pandora Will Sell Ads for SoundCloud in the U.S. Under Exclusive Pact: Audio-streaming platforms reach more than 100 million unduplicated listeners in U.S.
  53. MoviePass Is Now Re-Enrolling Former Customers in an ‘Unlimited’ Plan Unless They ‘Opt Out’
  54. Fine Brothers Entertainment Developing Slate Of 4 TV Shows With JASH, Fly On The Wall, More
  55. CBS Bullies Fan Star Trek Project To Shut Down Despite Creators’ Pleas For Instructions On Being Legit
  56. Netflix Plans To Try Out “Interactive” Shows
  57. Netflix is planning a choose-your-own-adventure episode of ‘Black Mirror’
  58. Report: Netflix to offer “choose-your-own-adventure” TV series
  59. Report: Netflix’s Black Mirror is getting the choose-your-own-adventure treatment
  60. Netflix’s ‘House Of Cards’ Kills Off Kevin Spacey In Trailer For Final Season (Watch)
  61. Netflix To Launch Third European HQ In Paris, Unveils 7 French Series And Films
  62. Netflix And Amazon Are Doubling Original Programming Slates To Compete In Crowded Space (Study)
  63. Amazon institutes $15 minimum wage for all US employees, including temps
  64. Amazon Raises Minimum Wage to $15 After Criticism About Workers on Food Stamps [Updated]
  65. Amazon’s $15-Per-Hour About-Face Is Creating Confusion for Whole Foods Workers
  66. EBay accuses Amazon of ‘unlawful’ merchant poaching
  67. Some Apple Employees Think Company’s New TV Service Will Be Dull As Nails
  68. Apple Imposes Privacy Policy Requirement for All Apps Operating on its Platform 
  69. FDA Hearts Apple’s New Watch
  70. iPhone XS and XS Max review: Big screens, big performance, big lenses, big prices
  71. Major Complaints About the iPhone XS Are Stacking Up 
  72. Twitter Now Lets Its Publishing Partners Rake In Global In-Stream Video Ad Revenues
  73. James Woods Is Correct That Twitter Shouldn’t Have Blocked His Account, But Still Hypocritical On Free Speech
  74. Brazil’s Government Wants Twitter To Turn Over Data On Users Who Mocked Victim Of Assassination Attempt
  75. Did France Just Make It Effectively Impossible To Use Twitter? 
  76. Elon Musk, Twitter and Disclosure Controls and Procedures 
  77. Elon Musk sued by SEC over ‘funding secured’ tweet
  78. SEC lawsuit seeks to force Musk out as Tesla CEO and board member
  79. Tesla is outgrowing Elon Musk
  80. Musk settles—out as Tesla chairman, owes $20 million in penalties
  81. Elon Musk to Resign as Tesla Chairman, Pay $20 Million Fine in SEC Settlement Over Catastrophic ‘420’ Tweet
  82. Elon Musk to Step Down as Tesla Chairman as Part of SEC Settlement
  83. SEC settlement sends Tesla stock soaring
  84. Cop Pulls Tesla Model 3 Driver Over For ‘Computer’ Mounted On Dashboard
  85. What is a Devil’s Triangle? Kavanaugh’s testimony inspires real-time Wikipedia edits
  86. Brett Kavanaugh And The Information Terrorists Trying To Reshape America: The network architecture built in Gamergate helped propel Trump to the presidency and fuel conspiracies like Pizzagate and QAnon. Now it’s backing Brett Kavanaugh.
  87. With his internet cut off, Julian Assange steps down as editor of WikiLeaks 
  88. African Countries Shooting Themselves In The Digital Foot By Imposing Taxes And Levies On Internet Use 
  89. FOSTA Provides Another Tool For Silencing People You Dislike
  90. Six Months Later, People Are Finally Realizing That FOSTA Actually Is Putting Lives At Risk
  91. Thanks To Streaming Fragmentation, Bittorrent Traffic Is Suddenly Rising In Traffic Share
  92. Insights: Streaming Giants Are Remaking Awards Season, Just Like Everything Else in Hollywood
  93. My Grudge Against Iomega and the Click of Death
  94. Remember How Bad Android Was?
  95. Confused Swedish Ad Board Says ‘Distracted Boyfriend Meme’ Is Sexist

CREATIVITY

  1. British Columbia Court of Appeal orders Vancouver transit authority to reconsider selling ad space to anti-abortion group
  2. A need-to-know guide on IP in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement
  3. NAFTA/USMCA is Even Worse Than You Thought on Intellectual Property: CETA Victory is Now Forfeited & Long Live Life + 70 etc. (Howard Knopf)
  4. The Cost of Canadian IP Capitulation in NAFTA. (Howard Knopf)
  5. The USMCA and Copyright Reform: Who is Writing Canada’s Copyright Law Anyway? (Michael Geist)
  6. A Mix Of Good And Bad Ideas In NAFTA Replacement
  7. Good News! USMCA (a/k/a NAFTA 2.0) Embraces Section 230-Like Internet Immunity (Eric Goldman)
  8. The Copyright Directive
  9. How to Obtain a Global Injunction in a Copyright Infringement Case (Eric Goldman)
  10. Another Zombie Bad Idea That Just Won’t Die: Copyright Small Claims Court Would Be A Free Speech Disaster
  11. Court Shoots Down Record Label’s Attempt To Expand The Definition Of ‘Vicarious’ Infringement
  12. Music Group Cheers On Its Own Fake Antipiracy Victories
  13. Giving Cops The Finger Is Protected Speech, Says Another Federal Court
  14. Fashion Designer Balenciaga Opposes Parody Pet-Wear Maker’s Trademark Application For ‘Pawlenciaga’
  15. Matt Damon opens SNL’s season as a belligerent, beer-bashing Brett Kavanaugh
  16. Kenan Thompson tells Seth Meyers about skipping out on Kanye West’s SNL “circus”

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

  1.  Application Denied: CRTC Rejects Bell Coalition Website Blocking Proposal (Michael Geist)
  2. Canadian Music Group Calls For Copyright Tax on Broadband Data Use (Michael Geist) 
  3. California Net Neutrality Bill Signed Into Law
  4. Calif. enacts net neutrality law—US gov’t immediately sues to block it [Updated]
  5. The DOJ’s New Net Neutrality Lawsuit Is A Giant Middle Finger To State Rights, Consumers, Competition & The Democratic Process
  6. Trump admin claims Calif. net neutrality law causes “irreparable harm” to US
  7. Entire broadband industry sues California to stop net neutrality law
  8. Cities will sue FCC to stop $2 billion giveaway to wireless carriers
  9. Cities, Counties Say FCC 5G Plan A Massive Handout To Wireless Carriers
  10. ESPN Has Finally Realized This Whole Streaming Thing Has Legs
  11. Ninth Circuit Adopts Expansive Definition of Auto-Dialer in TCPA Case
  12. TCPA on the Front Line: The Battle for the Future of American Free Speech is Quietly Taking Shape in an Appeal Over “Robocalls” 
  13. Report Finds U.S. Wireless Video Streaming Utterly Mediocre Thanks To Arbitrary Carrier Throttling

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

  1. California Enacts the Nation’s First Internet of Things Security Law
  2. California Enacts New Requirements for Internet of Things Manufacturers 
  3. The Entire Broadband Industry Just Sued California For Daring To Protect Net Neutrality
  4. Analyst Who Accidentally Leaked NSA Software Given Five More Years In Prison Than General Who Handed Classified Info To His Mistress
  5. Everything Wrong In One Story: Data Silos, Privacy, And Algorithmic Blocking
  6. How Face ID could be a game-changer for aggressive US border agents 
  7. FBI Makes Child Porn Suspect Unlock iPhone X Using His Face 
  8. Cops told suspect he had to open iPhone X with his face, so he did 
  9. The FBI Forced A Suspect To Unlock His iPhone With His Face: But should investigators have the right to do that?
  10. Feds Finally Get Around To Using Someone’s Face To Unlock Their Cellphone
  11. FBI: We can’t listen to Facebook Messenger voice calls. Judge: Tough luck
  12. FBI vs. Facebook Messenger: What’s at stake?
  13. Don’t want New Zealand officials to get into your phone? Pay up to NZ$5,000
  14. How Oakland sets the new standard for meaningful police tech oversight
  15. DOJ Loses Another Attempt To Obtain Encryption-Breaking Precedent In Federal Court
  16. Four Companies Settle FTC Allegations Regarding False EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Certifications 
  17. In a Shift, Apple and Amazon Say They Are in Favor of Federal Privacy Regulation
  18. Facebook Reportedly Defeats Government Demand to Wiretap Messenger Calls
  19. New Mexico AG Charges App Maker With COPPA Violations
  20. First UEFI malware discovered in wild is laptop security software hijacked by Russians
  21. CEO who sold phones with “totally unbreakable encryption” takes plea deal

Jon

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Discussion topic – 10th October 2018

By Shaanil on October 7, 2018

Are you in control of your mind? Our discussion will look at equipping you with a variety of information on the topic of video games and addiction, so that you can form an educated opinion on this recently fired up debate.

Outline

1. Gaming disorder and addiction

  • WHO definition
  • How would it get diagnosed?

2. General examples and activity in this area

  • Fortnite example
  • Recent debates and controversy
  • Legal and Government intervention

3. Specific example – loot boxes

  • Definition
  • Debates on its correlation to gambling
  • Battlefront 2 example
  • Regulatory intervention

Preparation

Feel free to watch this video as an introduction to some of the themes that will be covered in our discussion. Come equipped with opinions on this recent classification by the WHO, the implications it brings about, and any stories you may want to share.

Please note: As this topic could get personal, when sharing your opinion in class, do so respectfully, with your fellow classmates/the audience in mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axG1tLdutmY

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Class 4 – 10/3/18; “Right to CreaTE or Rights to the Creation” + “Our Virtual Rights: Virtually Non-Existent?”

By Jon Festinger on October 5, 2018

Slides & video below…

Jon

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Quick Summary of the SCC Pentalogy

By Ryan Vogt on October 3, 2018

Jon has mentioned the SCC Pentalogy on copyright a few times in class. If anyone would like a quick summary of the five cases, Osgoode has put together a really useful summary of all of them.

Cheers,
Ryan Vogt

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Secret Chinese Clocks

By Jon Festinger on October 3, 2018

Following up on last weeks discussion regarding openness of technology, where I mentioned that the first ever mechanical time keeping device was built for a Chinese emperor but was kept secret, arguably slowing down human progress for hundreds of years until the mechanical clock was reinvented in Europe in the 14th century, this came in from former student in the class Ryan Vogt: ”

Last Wednesday, you mentioned the Chinese clock having been invented long before the European clock, and you were looking for a source. I don’t have a specific source, but I may have some names that could help you track it down…

Su Song designed a large clocktower (~1092). It kept time using a mechanism based on the flow of water, invented earlier by Buddhist monk Yi Xing (~725). When Su Song presented the design of his clock to Emperor Zhezong, he equated the continuous flow of water running the clock to the continuous movement of the heavens, which represented the unending power of the Emperor (appeasing the Emperor). The clocktower was dismantled by an invading Jurchen army (~1127), and it was never successfully reconstructed. Later, Jesuit explorers who came to China believed, based on their observations, that China had never advanced much beyond the sundial.

You may have read about this clocktower in historian Joseph Needham’s works, as he is famous for having studied the history of Chinese clocks.”

Further sleuthing on sources (okay, just Wikipedia) yielded this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su_Song#Horology_and_mechanical_engineering

Jon

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Discussion Outline October 3rd

By jessica fenton on October 2, 2018

Discussion Topic

How does our regulation of rights in the real world compare to our regulation of rights in video games? What can game creators do to fill the in-game legal void – and what are the consequences if they fail?

Issues Covered

Below are the sub-topics our presentation will consider, as well as some focusing questions.

  1. The regulation of electronic property as compared to physical property
  • What are the tangible (or intangible) differences between electronic and physical property?
  • What is the legal difference between purchasing a digital copy of a game, compared to buying it as a disc?
  1. In-game trading and virtual theft
  • What are the rights of a game owner when it comes to real-world trading? Can you sell products obtained in-game for real-world money?
  • What property rights do virtual goods attract, and how can the law account for virtual theft?
  1. How the law can address virtual sexual assault
  • What role should (or could) the law play in addressing sexual assault perpetrated virtually? What obstacles to regulation might arise?
  • What other approaches can game designers take to protect their players?
  1. The law’s role in regulating real-world crimes (against a person) in a virtual world
  • Can defamation exist in video games and virtual realities?
  • How can the law address issues of defamation in video games?

Preparation

Please watch the video attached to this interview with the CEO of EA games, and consider what legal implications will result from the increased integration of video games into our daily lives that he’s predicting: https://www.theverge.com/a/verge-2021/ea-ceo-andrew-wilson-interview-virtual-video-games

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